SHANGHAI — China’s leading AI server provider xFusion, based in Henan province, has hired Citic Securities in a first step toward an initial public offering, regulatory filings showed Wednesday. The start of the xFusion IPO process reflects both investor demand for artificial intelligence hardware and Beijing’s push to back domestic tech champions as U.S. export controls restrict access to advanced technology, Jan. 7, 2026.
The company signed an agreement with Citic on Dec. 31 to begin IPO “tutoring,” a pre-listing guidance process that can include strengthening internal controls and preparing executives for disclosure requirements. A Reuters report citing the China Securities Regulatory Commission filing said the tutoring period is expected to run from January through April or May.
xFusion IPO tutoring puts Citic Securities in the driver’s seat
The xFusion IPO tutoring filing is not a prospectus, and it does not guarantee a listing. But it is a public signal that the Huawei spinoff is moving from provincial support and private capital toward the scrutiny of public markets — a shift that can raise expectations for governance, transparency and consistent results.
That evolution has been years in the making. TechNode’s 2021 report on Huawei’s sale of its x86 server business described a transaction that shifted control to a Henan-based consortium after U.S. measures complicated access to Intel chips, setting the stage for xFusion to operate independently.
AI listings surge as capital hunts for China’s hardware winners
The xFusion IPO is taking shape as a wider pipeline of AI and semiconductor offerings gathers momentum. In Hong Kong, AI chipmaker Biren closed up 76% in its market debut, and “Chinese AI startups are going public faster than U.S. giants thanks to supportive domestic policy,” said Winston Ma, an adjunct professor at NYU, in Reuters’ report on Biren’s first-day surge.
Just days earlier, a Reuters report on MiniMax and other year-end Hong Kong IPO launches underscored how quickly “hard tech” offerings have returned to the calendar. Back onshore, Reuters also noted that enthusiasm for AI-related stocks helped push the CSI AI Index up 67% in 2025.
That trend also shows up in market forecasts. Deloitte’s 2025 review and 2026 outlook for Chinese mainland and Hong Kong IPO markets said listings tied to national priorities — including AI — are likely to be better received as liquidity improves and regulators emphasize the quality of applicants.
A longer runway, now in public view
Reports over the past year have also sharpened the picture of who controls xFusion and why investors care. A 2024 report by Yicai Global said the company’s controlling shareholder held a 65% stake and noted other investors linked to China Telecom Group Investment and China Mobile Capital Holding.
Meanwhile, a Light Reading analysis in late 2025 described xFusion as Huawei’s former x86 server division and said it had been weighing routes to go public — context that makes the new xFusion IPO tutoring filing look less like a surprise and more like the next formal milestone.
For investors, the near-term question is what comes after the guidance period — including where the company plans to list, what it hopes to raise and how it positions demand for the servers and systems that underpin AI training and inference. If the xFusion IPO advances, it will test whether public markets will pay up for the infrastructure that powers China’s AI ambitions, not just the models that run on top of it.
